Caroline and the Family Album
by Ultrawoman
Summary: My way of fixing the non-ending of the series finale. Some time in the future, Caroline tells her kids the story of her three attempts at getting down the aisle, and how the last one worked out perfectly in the end.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I only discovered Caroline in the City a couple of years ago on dvd, and only saw the series finale last year, but the moment I realised I was stuck with a non-ending, I knew I had to write my own! Now, after re-watching the final episode, I feel I want t share my ending, so here is the beginning, with a middle and end to follow soon. Probably of no interest to anyone, but then I mostly wrote it for my own piece of mind anyway ;-)**

_**Disclaimer: Caroline in the City and all its characters belongs Fred Barron, Dottie Dartland, and Marco Pennette - no infringement intended.**_

Part 1 of 3

Caroline wasn't sure what had been happening when she came into the living room and found the contents of the dresser spread all over the floor and part of the couch. She'd only been out front fixing the hanging baskets, couldn't have been more than a half hour talking with their neighbour whilst she completed her task, and yet her once organised living space now looked like a bomb had gone off on one side.

"Um, did something explode whilst I was out?" she said, putting a hand to her forehead as she came further into the room.  
"I'm tidying, honestly" the girl by the dresser told her, gathering up a few papers and such and shoving them into the first available drawer.

"Uh-huh" Caroline nodded once at her daughter, "Um, Parker, sweetie, you do understand what 'tidying' means, right?" she checked, half way between stunned at the mess and amused by the teen's words.

"Yes, Mom" Parker rolled her eyes, "I just got distracted is all" she admitted, getting up off her knees and handing a photograph album to her mother.

Caroline opened it up and smiled at the sight that met her eyes.

"Wow" she gasped as she sat down on the available area of the couch, and her daughter came to join her, "it's been a while since I saw these" she said, marvelling at each and every picture in the album from many years ago now.

"You look so beautiful in your wedding dress" Parker told her with a grin as she pointed to one photo in particular that showed off the flowing white garment to perfection.

"Thank you, sweetheart" Caroline smiled right back at her little girl, "It was a heck of a day, but I guess it's true what they say - third time's the charm" she sighed, the words slipping out of her mouth without her brain really engaging.

Of course, Parker was neither deaf nor stupid and immediately reacted to what her mother had accidentally said.

"Third time?" she echoed in astonishment, having no idea up to this point that her mother had been through no less than three weddings en route to marrying her father.

The fact was, none of the kids knew about it and to a point it was deliberate. Caroline didn't want her children to know too much about the fiasco that had been her love life prior to her marrying their Dad. Most of the time, she didn't even like to think about the rockier parts of the journey that led to this point, the happy family set up they had now, back in her home town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Married to the man of her dreams and raising their kids in the same house where she'd grown up, it was all Caroline had ever wanted, and now she had it. Those days of being 'Caroline in the City', the real-life version of her supposedly fictional comic strip, were long gone, and though great things had come out of them, they were behind her now.

"So let's tidy!" she told her daughter, closing the photo album and bouncing as if to get to her feet.

She realised in a second that she was not going to get out of this so easily. The look on the girl's face was familiar to Caroline as one she'd seen on her husband's face before, and there was just no arguing with such an expression.

"I guess we named you right" she sighed in defeat, "Nosey Parker!" she joked, tapping the girl's nose with her index finger as she said it.

"Come on, Mom!" Parker complained, as Caroline put the photo album down on the coffee table and surveyed the mess throughout the living room, "You never tell me any of the good stories from before you and Dad got married, and since I barely remember living in the city, you should share more!" she said indignantly.

Caroline would have liked to continue pretending not to hear her daughter, but it wasn't possible, especially when she knew the poor girl was right.

"I guess that's because you already heard all the good stories" she shrugged, "if good means suitable for young ears" she amended when she thought about it and Parker continued to whine.

"Mom, I'm almost in High School" she complained, forgetting as kids were wont to do that no matter how old they get, they will still always be babies to their parents, "Come on, I just want to know how come you had three weddings" she practically begged and Caroline sighed as she realised she really couldn't wriggle out of this.

Beside, it wasn't as bad as it sounded. She hadn't actually had three weddings as such, not even three marriages, just three attempts at getting down the aisle and only one that stuck. Maybe there really wasn't a reason to keep the story from her daughter, she considered, taking a deep breath before she began her tale.

"Okay" she said, "Well, the first man I was going to marry, that was a big mistake" she waved her hand in a random gesture of dismissal, "It wasn't that we didn't love each other, but with me and Del, it was..."

"Del?!" Parker gaped as she echoed the name that was so familiar to her, "You almost married Uncle Del?!" she squeaked, her voice so high that Caroline was convinced only dogs could hear her by the end of the sentence.

"Yes" she admitted, knowing before she began that part would get a reaction, but hoping to gloss over it without too much delay, "but it was a long time ago, way before he and your Aunt Annie realised they had feelings for each other" she explained, thinking maybe sometime she should really get to telling the tale of the unconventional way that those two found themselves in love.

Still, it ought to wait until Parker was much older, especially if Annie was ever allowed to recount the tale herself, in her own unique and graphic style!

"So that was before you met Dad?" Parker checked, her question bringing Caroline out of her thoughts, and refocusing her on the story at hand.

"Well, no" she admitted, "but, y'see, your father and I didn't have the smoothest courtship" she tried to explain, not wanting to get too far away from the original point about the weddings, by veering off into the entire history of her relationship with Richard.

Not only would it take hours upon hours to recount every detail, much of it was unsuitable for her thirteen year old daughters ears, as far as Caroline was cornered. Besides, so much of it paled into insignificance against other factors.

"Courtship?" Parker scoffed, "Please, Mom, did we fall back into the 1900s?" she complained with typical teenage eye-roll.

"You don't sass your mother or I won't tell you the rest of this story" Caroline said in what was supposed to be a firm way as she pointed a supposedly angry finger at the girl.

Her features softened in a moment and it was as if she'd never been mad. Parker knew from years of experience just what she could and couldn't get away with where both her mother and father were concerned. Mom was easier to wind up on most things, but she rarely if ever lost her temper in a big way.

"Anyway" Caroline continued her story, getting Parker's rapt attention in a second, "the second time I walked down the aisle, well, that was supposed to be for the long haul" she explained, staring at a blank space in the air as she watched the scene she spoke of unfold in her minds eye, "Randy was... he was perfect" she smiled as she remembered, "He wanted everything I wanted and he loved me..."

"But you didn't love him?" Parker cut in, assuming that to be the only reason why her Mom would not have committed to this supposedly 'perfect' man.

"No, I did" Caroline shook her head as she looked at the young girl beside her, "I just didn't love him enough" she explained, "not in the right way, it wasn't..." Caroline gestured with one arm, fighting with her own mind to find the phrase she was looking for to properly make her daughter see what she meant, "it wasn't.. sincero amore" she said at last, getting the puzzled look she ought to have expected from Parker.

"Wasn't what?" she asked, and though Caroline opened her mouth to answer, the words were spoken by a voice from the doorway.

"A love you don't have to question" he said, as the two on the couch turned and stared at him.

"Hey, Dad" Parker greeted her father with a grin, loving his entrance at just the right moment - he had a habit of doing that, she'd noticed.

"Richard" Caroline smiled at the sight of him, "We were just..."

"Mom was telling me a story" her daughter filled in when he mother seemed to stumble on her words.

"A story?" Richard looked unimpressed as he came into the living room, removing his coat as he came, and taking a seat in the armchair next to them, "Aren't you a little old for the three bears, Parker?" he said, putting his coat over the back of the chair.

"Try the three weddings" she told him with a grin, as her parents shared a look.

It wasn't that Richard minded his daughter knowing how the two of them had come to be married, but he wondered at Caroline wanting to tell it. She still found a little shame in the way they came to be married, he was certain, though he didn't really understand why she should feel so bad. At least he knew she felt no regret in their actually being married, she loved him as deeply as he loved her, that was always obvious enough to him.

"Who had three weddings?" said a little voice from behind the couch, as a head popped up behind Caroline and Parker.

"Marissa Karinsky you frightened the life out of me!" her mother declared a hand on her chest as she tried to get her breath back.

"Sorry, Mom" the little girl said, looking suitably shame-faced about her trick as she walked around the couch and looked forlornly at her father til he took pity on her and let her share his chair.

"Sorry, Mom" came an echo from Marissa's little brother, Joey, as he too appeared from behind the couch, his apology a little pointless since he hadn't even been a part of Caroline's shock.

"Okay, no harm done" Richard told the pair, as Marissa squeezed into the chair with him and Caroline pulled Joey up into her lap, "How about we all get comfortable and your Mom can tell the rest of the story?" he grinned almost evilly at his wife, knowing having to recount the tale would probably make her squirm just enough to be amusing.

He loved her, just as she loved him, but it was still fun to tease each other sometimes, it made life interesting. She knew what he was doing and shot him a look somewhere between amused and annoyed just as a sound like a herd of elephants clattered down the stairs.

"Oh, Stevie, honey, you're just in time" Caroline called out into the hall, just as the boy's hand reached the front door knob.

"For what?" he asked as he turned back to look in through the living room door, only to be greeted by his entire family staring at him.

"To hear the story of how your father and I got married" Caroline smiled at him, though he looked less than impressed at the prospect of sitting down with his parents to hear an old romantic tale of theirs.

"Do I have to?" he asked, looking more at his father than at Caroline.

"Stefano..." Richard said in a warning tone as he shot him a look that wasn't quite angry enough to mean anything.

"Okay, Dad, okay" the teen put his hands in mock-surrender as his father made him feel more like a naughty seven year old than the seven_teen_ he really was, "Tell us the great story, Mom" he said with a half-forced smile as he plopped down into the couch in the space she'd made, and wrapped her arm around Parker on the other side.

The grin on her face was as genuine as it had ever been as she looked to the boy she saw as her eldest son. She never tired of hearing him call her 'Mom', despite the fact that biologically she never could be his mother. She'd raised him alongside Richard, when Julia had all too easily given up on the idea of motherhood, and loved him as much as any of her other children.

"Well, now" she said, looking to Parker, and then around the room at her whole perfect little family, "Where was I?"

_- End of Part 1 -_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: So, no-one is revewing but I know a few people are reading, so thats cool :-) Here's the middle of the story; end to follow soon...**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Part 2 of 3

"Well, now" Caroline said, looking to Parker, and then around the room at her whole perfect little family, "Where was I?"

"You were going to marry some guy named Randy" her elder daughter reminded her quickly, just wanting to get on with the story already.

"That's right" Caroline nodded, "and the minister asked if anyone had any objections..." she continued, pausing for dramatic effect.

"Did you stop the wedding, Daddy?" Marissa asked, craning her neck to look up at her father.

"No" he shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face as he looked across at Stefano, "but your brother did" he told them, as the boy who had looked bored up to this point suddenly sat up and took notice of what was happening.

"Me?" he checked, obviously not recalling the incident at all, but then he wouldn't, he was just a babe in arms at the time.

Caroline could see it all so clearly in her head as she recalled the story of her wedding day many years ago...

_*FLASHBACK to 1999*_

The sound of a baby crying broke the silence that had previously filled the church. Somebody's kid had very bad timing to be crying at this particular point when the priest had just now asked if anyone objected to the marriage. As the baby cry was heard again, many heads tuned to see who was there, where the child was and why it wasn't being quietened down. Caroline got the biggest shock of anyone as she looked up in the rafters and spotted a man she knew very well, a baby in his arms.

"Richard" she gasped as she headed back down the aisle, Randy, her wedding and everything forgotten for a moment as she faced the man she loved.

Getting over him had been hard but she'd told herself it was for the best. He wasn't just out of her life but out of the country, and completely out of reach, not least because their futures were planned to be so different. He hadn't wanted children, not even the one he and Julia had already produced, at least that was what he'd said that day at the airport six months ago. Now he was here, and holding this child to whom he had supposedly become quite attached. Caroline didn't know what to think or even what to feel. All she knew was she was so very glad to see Richard and she needed to talk to him.

Making a gesture with her arm that she hoped he read correctly, Caroline hurried out of the main hall and through to where she knew the stairs from above met the ground. Richard was there in an instant and though they were both so pleased to see each other, the moment was beyond awkward. He had a child now, this was her wedding day. Both of them were not so free and single anymore, far from it in fact, and neither really knew how to react to being faced with each other.

"Richard, what are you doing here?" Caroline asked eventually, the only coherent question or comment she could find in the whole of her head that continued to spin.

"I heard you were getting married and... I don't know" he shook his head, "I just had to be here"

Before either of them had a chance to say anything else (not that anything in particular came to mind anyway) one worried bridesmaid and her usher partner came hurrying from the main hall, closing the doors behind them.

"Good news first" Annie said quickly, "I managed to keep your Mom, Dad, and Randy in the hall for now, which gives you two some time to talk" she told Caroline, "Bad news is... Richie's back" she said with a look that suggested that wasn't meant to be as mean as it sounded.

"So nice to see you too, Annie" Richard said flatly but with a smirk on his face.

"What's happening?" Del wanted to know, "I mean is that it, no wedding?" he checked.

"I don't know, I..." Caroline said, looking bemused as she glanced between her friends and Richard who tried to stop his son from making noise.

"Okay, well, how about we, uh..." Annie began, pushing open the nearest door and smiling, "Yeah, empty room! How about we all go in here, away from ears and people" she suggested, ever mindful of what could potentially be heard in the main hall.

"Come on, Stefano" Richard tried in vain to get the child to stop wriggling and whimpering, but he was having none of it as he and Caroline were forcibly bundled into the next room.

"If you need to deal with him..." she started, only to have Annie interrupt.

"No, no way" she said firmly, "You guys need a serious talk" she said, pointing a stern finger at the two of them, "So how about me and Del take the little one, walk around the block, see if we can't calm him down, whilst you two talk things through?" she suggested.

Richard looked dubious. He did want to talk to Caroline, alone if at all possible, though he wasn't overly certain he knew what he was going to say. He could see the sense in removing Stefano from the equation for a few minutes, and for all the fights he and Annie had, he trusted her to see no harm came to his son.

"Here" he said, carefully handing the baby over into the bridesmaids waiting arms, then passing his accompanying bag to Del, "If he needs feeding or changing, everything you need is in the bag" he told the unlikely couple as they nodded their understanding and moved to walk away.

"We have to change him?" Del said with some disgust as they walked away, and Richard closed the door behind them, turning to face Caroline.

"He's a beautiful baby" she said, for lack of knowing where else to begin, "You seem to have taken to fatherhood pretty well" she added almost bitterly, though it was not her intention.

It hurt more to know how they had come to part and now to realise it might have all been for nothing. She was marrying another man and it was too late for her and Richard, he and Julia were probably back together and…

"To be honest, I had to" Richard's words interrupted her train of thought and she looked up sharply from the floor and met his eyes, "Julia had no interest in being a mother, I was left literally holding the baby" he explained, "and then the more time I spent with Stefano the more I loved him, the more I found my reason for being" he smiled, an expression that had been unfamiliar to him for too long before now.

Caroline opened her mouth to speak when the door opened and Randy entered, closing said door behind himself and facing both his bride and the uninvited guest at his wedding.

"Well, isn't this awkward?" Caroline said with an over-the-top grin, really stuck for anything else to say or do right now.

"I'm sorry" Richard apologised, "I probably shouldn't ever have come, I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I did, I just…"

"It's alright, Richard" Randy told him honestly, "You know a part of me wondered if you'd show up today" he smiled, though it was a sad expression through and through as the two men shared a look.

"How did you even know I was getting married?" Caroline chimed in, suddenly realising she had never sent an invitation, and as far as she knew Richard was still on the opposite side of the world.

"Actually, it was Charlie who told me" Richard smiled as he recalled the day, "It was the oddest coincidence when he showed up in Italy, talking about Del, and Annie, and you, and suddenly... I just needed to come home" he said, staring intently at Caroline, his words and the look in his eyes as he gazed at her almost bringing her to tears.

Randy watched the two watching each other. It near broke his heart, but a part of him had been waiting for this day to come from the very moment he and Caroline went on their first date to now. As much as he loved and trusted her, a part of him had always been waiting for Richard for return and for everything to be ripped out from under him.

Before anybody had a chance to say anymore a light tap on the door was followed by Annie entering with a screaming Stefano in her arms.

"I swear, I tried everything" she said with a genuinely apologetic look on her face as she glanced at Caroline and then Richard, "I guess he just wants his Daddy" she said with a shrug as she handed the baby back to his father.

"I should..." he said, looking back at Caroline and she nodded her head.

"Go" she told him, watching him leave, along with Annie and Del.

She had to face Randy now, and she honestly didn't know what to say to him. Fortunately, it seemed he knew that and had a few things of his own he needed to get off his chest. Caroline tried to steel herself against anger or tears that might come from the man she was supposed to be marrying today. The wind was knocked completely out of her sails by his actual reaction.

"You know I always knew if he came back, things would change" Randy said with a sad smile, "I was second best, Caroline, and we both knew it"

"Randy..." she tried to interrupt, to argue somehow, even though deep down she knew he was right.

"No, Caroline, please" he shook his head and silenced her with a look, "Please, let me say this" he urged her, taking hold of her hand, "You love Richard, you always have, and yeah, I know you love me too, but not enough" he sighed, "I could've handled being second best, just to be with you, it would've been worth it, but now Richard's back in the picture, and the way he looks at you... I know he loves you as much as I do" he nodded, as tears ran unchecked down Caroline's cheeks, smearing her make-up as it went, "Sweetheart, I know you love him more, and I'm pretty sure if you go through with this wedding and marry me today, you'll wind up regretting it later" he said, taking a deep breath, closing his eyes a moment and steeling himself against anything that came next, in particular the reaction he was expecting, "I need you to be completely honest with me, Caroline" he said, looking her right in the eyes, lifting her chin with his finger to ensure she couldn't shy away from this important moment, "Can you marry me today?"

She hesitated but a moment, before silently shaking her head. Randy had expected that, but it didn't hurt any less to get the actual answer. There was always a tiny part of him that held onto the hope she might feel differently, that she might choose him - it was never going to happen, and she had just proved it.

"Randy, I'm so sorry" Caroline cried, feeling just dreadful.

Before, she'd been certain she and Richard had no future together, they wanted different things, and he had a child and Julia. Now everything was different, a life together was possible for them somehow, and she couldn't tie herself to Randy knowing she might get to be with Richard if she said no.

"Don't be" Randy shook his head, "Don't ever be sorry for being in love, Caroline" he told her, as he leaned in and planted a kiss on her forehead, then let go of her hand and walked towards the door.

At the last moment he turned back to look at her.

"One last question" he said, "If Richard asked, would you marry him today?" he checked, and though Caroline wouldn't or couldn't answer, the look on her face spoke volumes, "Then don't waste a good dress" he said with a small smile as he let himself out of the room.

Alone for a moment, Caroline tried to gather her thoughts but was barely given time as there was a knock on the door and Richard re-entered.

"I got Stefano settled, Randy told me you needed to talk to me" he said as he cautiously came into the room, closing the door behind him, "What happened?"

"Randy..." Caroline cried, feeling so over-emotional she could barely speak, "he, he said he knows that I... that I love you more than him" she said, wiping her tears away and only making a worse mess of her make up.

It took Richard a moment to process that sentence, before he could properly answer. If Randy knew Caroline loved himself more than her groom, obviously she had confirmed it and that had caused the other man to leave. Richard felt terrible for the red-head who was apparently very upset and yet, he couldn't feel at all sorry that he'd stopped the wedding, not if it meant the two of them had a chance now.

"Caroline..." he said as he moved towards her and immediately she flew into his arms hugging him close.

Holding on tight to each other, Caroline's tears soon ceased as both she and Richard enjoyed the feeling of each others embrace, that feeling like coming home.

"I almost made such a big mistake" she said against his shoulder, as she pulled away so he would better hear her, "Richard, I missed you so much"

"I missed you too" he assured her with a smile, "Caroline, I wanted so many times to call or write, even come back here and tell you how I've changed and yet one thing has always remained the same - I love you" he swore.

"I love you too" she repeated the sentiment back to him, as he lowered his head and kissed her, a passionate kiss that reminded Caroline vaguely of another time, in a dreamworld, where she wore a wedding dress and planned to marry another man, only to have Richard enter and kiss her just like this.

That was the night when she'd started to realise she was falling in love with this man, and now she knew for sure she never wanted to let him go. It was an awfully fast turnaround, but Randy had been right. He was second best to Richard, through no fault of his own or hers, but it was true. Now she had her true love back, her sincero amore, and she wasn't going to let him get away again.

"Richard" she gasped when they parted from their kiss and tried to breathe, "Will you marry me?" she asked, with a genuine smile on her face as she gazed up at him.

"Caroline, I would marry you this moment if I could" he told her happily.

"Then let's do it" she said, making what was perhaps the first well-thought out snap desicion of her life - and it felt really good too!

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: So, here's the final part for anyone who wants it! :-)**

_**(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)**_

Part 3 of 3

"Well, Caroline, you finally did it" Richard teased her with a smile, "You bored them to sleep" he told her, gesturing to the two youngest children, Marissa dead to the world at her father's side, and Joey curled up next to his mother, lightly snoring.

"Don't listen to him, Mom" Parker rolled her eyes, "I think it was beautiful"

"Yeah, pretty cool" even Stefano agreed.

Though it was clear he'd been less than thrilled to be dragged into storytime with his brother and sisters, he'd actually enjoyed hearing how love had conquered all and led to the marriage of his Dad and the woman he had always known as Mom.

"Okay" Caroline sighed as she reached over and dropped a kiss on the top of Parker's head, "I think maybe you should tidy up this little mess we have here" she said quietly, as she lifted her sleepy son up into her arms, "Whilst your Dad and I put these two to bed" she said, gesturing for Richard to follow her lead and bring Marissa.

"Well, if we're done with memory lane, I kind of have a date" Stefano admitted as he too got up from his seat and followed his parents out.

"Who's the lucky girl, Stevie?" Caroline asked him from halfway up the stairs as he pulled on his jacket in the hallway.

"Just a girl I know from school" he shrugged nonchalantly, though the grin on his face and look in his eyes suggested it was a lot bigger deal than he was making it out to be, "Who knows? Maybe she's my sincero amore or whatever" he winked as he swung out of the front door, calling over his shoulder that he wouldn't be too late home.

"He jokes, but you never know" Caroline said as she hugged Joey to her and looked further up the stairs at Richard who smiled.

"That's true" he nodded in agreement, before turning around and carrying Marissa up to her room, his wife following.

They split off into the kids rooms, getting them re-dressed for bed and settled in for the night. They emerged at more or less the same moment into the hallway and shared a hug and brief kiss.

"You know you're still just as handsome as on our wedding day" Caroline smiled up at the man she loved, and had done for more years than she could count, perhaps even from the first moment they met, though she hadn't known it then.

"I wasn't exactly dressed the occasion" he rolled his eyes as he recalled the day, "And I'm fairly certain Randy's family were less than impressed I was there at all!"

Caroline had to agree with that part. It was very awkward having so many friends and family of the groom present, when that groom had just walked out leaving his bride to marry another man! Still, Caroline and Richard barely noticed anything but each other and the preist who joined them in holy matrimony. It was still their day, with Annie as maid of honour, Charlie as an unlikely best man, and an awkward looking Del left holding the baby! It was those friends of theirs that helped make the day special for the couple who had been parted too long and came together so unexpectedly on what should have been her wedding day to another man.

"I will admit, that was one day I was glad to have Annie around" Richard smiled, "especially at the Reception"

"She did do a wonderful job" Caroline agreed, as the couple began to sway almost instinctively to music that existed only in their own heads, as they both recalled their wedding day and what happened after the ceremony.

_*FLASHBACK to 1999*_

"I still don't get why I wasn't the best man" Del continued to whine as he escorted Annie into the hall for the wedding reception.

"Because Richard didn't choose you" she reminded him, "He chose Charlie... Which still has me wondering if he's had a knock on the head lately" she said with a concerned look as the bride and groom both turned to look at the couple behind them, "What, it was a weird choice?"

"Actually, it wasn't" Richard pointed out, even as his best man skated over to the refreshment table too fast, almost knocking a punch bowl flying, "If not for Charlie showing up in Rome and telling me about Caroline getting married, I might not have been here in time to make a difference" he said, as he kept one arm around his new wife, the other cradling his sleepy son.

"Well, yeah, okay" Del nodded, "but you still could've picked me" he pouted like a big baby, at least until Annie grabbed him and planted a kiss on his lips.

"Hey, _I_ chose you" she reminded him, "That ought to be enough" she said with a look that made him agree in an instant.

The little gathering was interrupted as Charlie skated over and told them that they might want to deal with the band. Apparently, they were about to start playing the song for the first dance and since that song had been chosen by Randy, it was now hardly appropriate.

"Oh, no, they can't play that" Caroline said worriedly.

"Well, what do you want them to play?" Del asked, only to be greeted by blank looks from the happy couple.

"I don't know" Richard shrugged, "I don't think we really have a song, do we?" he said carefully, clearly a little worried he might have forgotten a detail that only a woman would remember.

That being the case, this could be the shortest marriage in history, he realised, but thankfully he was right. Caroline quickly but rather sadly agreed they had no particularly special song for their relationship, leading to an even bigger problem. It might be easy enough to tell the band not to play one thing, but when there was no other to replace it...

"I have an idea" Annie said suddenly, a wide grin taking over her face, that made Richard in particular decidedly nervous, "Del, Charlie, you guys are in charge of the baby" she said, pulling the child from his fathers arms and passing him over to the two guys, "It's just for a few minutes and he's sleeping, what can happen?" she asked, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"Annie, what are you doing?" Caroline asked as she was bundled out into the centre of the dancefloor with her equally confused husband still clutching her hand.

"Just trust me" her friend said with a smile, though Richard looked unimpressed still as the brunette climbed up onto the stage, ever mindful of tripping on her long bridesmaids dress.

"Why when she said that did all the hair on the back of my neck stand on end?" Richard whispered to his wife, only half-joking, though she laughed all the same and slapped him lightly across the arm.

"Okay, hello!" Annie said into the microphone, caching the attention of all the guests, "So, it's time for the happy couple's first dance, and to accompany this moment, I have a song I'd like to sing that I think can most definitely be called _their_ song" she smiled down at the couple who suddenly found themselves literally under a spotlight, "Caroline, Richard, forgive me if my piano skills are a little rusty..." she said as she literally shoved the member of the band out of the way and sat down at the instrument that was much more her sister's territory than her own.

Still, she knew what she was doing, she was sure, and at least she had the lyrics memorised...

"_If you don't arrive by seven, I'll have to let you go..._" she began singing, words to a song that the happy couple immediately recognised, "_but before you marry someone else, there's something you should know_..."

"May I have this dance?" Caroline asked her husband who looked at her with a smile on his face as he accepted her hand, and the pair went into each others embrace.

A light applause echoed around the hall as the happy couple enjoyed the first dance of their married life together, to a song that some time ago had been a letter that ought to have stopped Caroline's first wedding.

"_I have feelings, strong feelings. Meet me at Remos_" Annie continued to sing, a grin on her face as she watched the couple dance, a warm glow inside for the sake of their happy ending, "_I want to share your laughter, and wipe away your tears, so if you love me, meet me at Remos_"

"This isn't exactly how you planned today, is it?" Richard asked his wife, just so happy to know she had that title, as they continued dancing.

"No" Caroline admitted, as she glanced first at Annie, then at Charlie and Del who bounced a now awake baby Stefano between them, "It's not what I planned" she said, her eyes meeting Richard's own once again, "It's better... it's perfect" she said with joyful tears in her eyes as they shared a kiss.

"_I want to share your laughter, and wipe away your tears, so if you love me, meet me at Remos_"

_* FLASHFORWARD *_

There on the landing between the bedrooms of their children, Richard Karinsky held his wife, Caroline, in his arms and kissed her with as much certainty of love as he had on their wedding day. So caught up in the moment were the couple, they didn't notice their daughter, Parker, reach the top of the stairs and catch them in a clinch.

The teen ought to have been disgusted by such a parental PDA, but she couldn't be. It was amazing to her that after all these years her Mom and Dad were still so in love, that they had apparently overcome so much to be together. They fought sometimes, everybody's parents did, but it never lasted long and there had never been any doubt in Parker's mind that their family would be one that stuck together always, through thick and thin.

Sliding past the oblivious kissing couple that were her parents, Parker made it to her own bedroom and glanced back at her Mom and Dad with a smile. So many kids came from broken homes, she knew she'd never have that problem. Against all the odds her folks were together and would always be. They had sincero amore, a love you don't have to question, and Parker only hoped she would be so lucky as to find such a thing for herself one day.

- The End -


End file.
